


Paintings on the wall

by soul_wanderer



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Comfort, Established Relationship, F/F, Family, Family Fluff, Fluff, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-01
Updated: 2016-03-01
Packaged: 2018-05-24 02:09:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6137723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soul_wanderer/pseuds/soul_wanderer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Belle is pregnant, Ruby is excited and nervous all the same and looking for a way to get her mind off the stress for a while and ends up discovering a creative streak - adorable family fluff, literally</p>
            </blockquote>





	Paintings on the wall

**Author's Note:**

  * For [willowezra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/willowezra/gifts).



> I have to admit that this prompt/request wasn't quite easy for me but I hope you like the outcome - I definitely enjoyed writing it!

When they had first confirmed Belle’s pregnancy, Ruby had been ecstatic. She was excited to finally start a family of her own, especially with someone like Belle, whom she loved more than she had ever expected to in the first place.

Soon enough they were swamped with congratulations from their family and friends and started preparing everything for their addition to the family in between Belle working at the library and Ruby’s shifts at the diner. 

Things were going well for them, until one night Ruby started being plagued by doubts.   
It was when she felt the baby move for the first time, Belle waking her excitedly, that she truly began to think about their future as a family of three. 

She knew Belle couldn’t wait to become a mother, and she was just as excited, but she still feared they might miss something or make mistakes they wouldn’t be able to fix.   
Belle noticed the far-off look in her eyes, her own hands coming to rest atop Ruby’s, but Ruby just smiled at her and told her it was nothing, not wanting to burden her with her own doubts.

The following weeks Ruby would write to-do lists for them and frequently visit Belle at the library during her breaks or after work to read more books about pregnancy, babies and parenthood, much to Belle’s amusement, since Ruby wasn’t known to be a big fan of books after all.  
Sitting down next to her and grabbing one of the sandwiches Ruby had brought along, she quietly watched her, smiling at the way her nose scrunched in contemplation every now and then as she scribbled down notes onto a paper laying next to her on the table. 

“Hey Ruby, don’t forget to eat” Belle reminded her after a while, something she never thought she would have to do, with Ruby’s usual appetite.   
“Oh, yeah, right, thanks” Ruby absent-mindedly looked up from the book and smiled at her before taking a bite of her own sandwich.

“You should probably take a break from all that reading anyway. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you read that much before” There was a slight teasing tone in her voice but behind the smirk on her lips it was obvious that she just wanted to make sure that Ruby still took care of herself, not just her and the baby.

“Yeah, I just,” Ruby seemed to contemplate her words for a moment before continuing “I just want to be prepared. That’s all.” Again she smiled at Belle, but this time uncertainty was flickering in her eyes as she did so.

“Don’t worry, Ruby. It’s going to be fine, really. Nobody is ever quite prepared and that’s okay too.” Belle reassured her, knowing she tended to stress over things a lot. After that Ruby seemed to momentarily calm down and Belle was glad when they returned to their usual chatting and bantering.

It was on Saturday, Ruby had one of her rare free days, that she found herself in one of the few stores in Storybrooke, looking for different colours of paints for the walls of the nursery.  
Belle was set to close the library in the early afternoon hours and Ruby wanted to get as much of the painting done as possible as a surprise for her.  
She had done quite a bit of research to find non-toxic paints and was happy when she finally found what she was looking for so she could get to work before Belle returned home.

Some time later she found herself standing in the nursery, opening the cans after having covered the floor so it wouldn’t get paint on it.  
Working from bottom to top she soon got lost in the task, music quietly playing in the background as she let her mind wander to their unborn child.  
She was still nervous about the upcoming months but the painting considerably calmed her down and took her mind off the stress for a while.

Hours later she was still so immersed in the task of colouring the walls that she didn’t notice Belle returning home and standing in the doorway, quietly watching Ruby, a hand resting on her abdomen as she waited for Ruby to notice her.

Realizing that wouldn’t happen any time soon, she made her presence known by clearing her throat and smiled when Ruby startled ever so slightly and looked up at her, a flustered look on her face.

“Oh hey, I didn’t hear you coming home” A faint blush spread across her cheeks and she got up to greet Belle, her arms instinctively wrapping around her middle as she pressed a soft kiss onto her lips.

“It’s quite alright, I’m just glad you found a way to relax.” Belle warmly smiled at her and nodded towards the wall Ruby had previously been working on before further inspecting her work.

“I just thought...you know...” Ruby almost insecurely began to explain as they both turned to look at the wall “I thought it would be nice to have something that reminds us of home. I mean, I know this is our home now and I’m happy about that, but-“ She momentarily paused again to collect her thoughts before turning towards Belle, “I want our kid to know where we’re coming from, you know?” Again, she insecurely smiled at Belle, hoping she had made the right decision.

The wall in front of them was covered in a mural that resembled a forest, with trees and different animals and even a small wolf cub in the corner at the far right, all of it reminding Belle of the enchanted forest, much to her delight.

“It’s perfect Ruby, thank you” Belle whispered and shot Ruby a watery smile before leaning in for another, longer kiss, showing her gratitude for Ruby’s thoughtfulness.

She knew that they might not know everything about how to be parents and that Ruby still had her insecurities but she also knew that their child would grow up with all the love it could ever ask for.


End file.
